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Kimi Antonelli galloped from 19th on the grid to win the Italian Grand Prix, all but ending the title hopes of George Russell, who started second and finished second.
‘Exceptionally challenging,’ admitted the Englishman of achieving his career ambition, almost resigned to be a smiling bridesmaid in someone else’s story.
As for Antonelli? What a drive. In triumphing on a strategy that clearly – and controversially – favoured him rather than his Mercedes team-mate Russell, the 20-year-old became the first Italian to win his home race since the black-and-white days of Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.
The pivotal moment came on lap 28, when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin broke down. A virtual safety car was deployed. Antonelli was called in, offered a cheap stop to move from hard tyres to mediums.
He came out flying, but 14 seconds behind race leader Russell, who had stayed out and was thus handed the uphill task of making his harder rubber last sufficiently well to the end with an ever-diminishing advantage.
At times, the to-be-winner Antonelli lapped nearly a second quicker than Russell and it grew into a matter of not if but when he would close the deficit to his senior before the 53rd and concluding lap.
Kimi Antonelli roared to victory in his home Grand Prix, becoming the first Italian to win it since 1966
It set up a grandstand finish. With 10 laps remaining, Antonelli was 4.7sec back. It looked bleak for Russell. It was going to come down to the last nervous moments. Or not quite as long as that, in fact.
Antonelli arrived on Russell’s gearbox on lap 49. They skirmished at the first corner. All fair. Russell went deep. Antonelli ran into the gravel, losing two seconds. Russell kept the lead, for now. But a lap later Antonelli did what the inevitable at Variante Ascari: he went into first place, and that was that.
His Mercedes was fast and Monza is an overtaking track, but this was also a scintillating drive, albeit helped by this strategy that was most useful to him.
An early red flag brought about by Charles Leclerc’s huge shunt on lap two got him on to hard tyres under the red-flag opportunity and bunched the field (a huge help after his engine change had condemned to start so far down the field).
Russell, arguably, should have been far enough up the road never to have been under threat. He had, after all, started 17 places ahead of Antonelli, who transported himself from further back on the grid to win than anyone since John Watson at Long Beach, California in 1983. Watson started 22nd that day.
The Mercedes garage hailed the win as you would expect – with unbridled emotion, and their motorhome was buzzing afterwards. Antonelli is their favoured son. Russell, who finished 3.8sec back from him, is not. He is also 66 points adrift from leader Antonelli in the standings and has precisely no momentum with 10 races remaining.
It is almost impossible to see a way back for Russell. He has won twice this season; Antonelli seven times.
George Russell, starting second and finishing second, could only congratulate his team-mate
But why did Mercedes not bring Russell, then leading, in for new tyres rather Antonelli? Their team boss Toto Wolff said: ‘We didn’t know what was the better strategy.
‘At that stage, the system said that the one-stop (Russell’s strategy) comes out ahead. That is what the software said.’
On whether Russell’s championship dream folded in the Royal Park at Monza, Wolff added: ‘It’s too early to say. It’s motor racing. It’s a technical sport. Things can break. Accidents can happen, and that’s why we have to do our best job for both drivers.’
If that sounds as if Wolff believes in and is backing Russell, I’m Mother Theresa. The Austrian said Antonelli is improving like an AI agent and that he had ‘walked on water’ here.
Russell was strangely sanguine afterwards, saying: ‘Kimi is definitely in charge of the championship, and he deserves to be. I am not even thinking about a fight or a comeback but focused on taking it race by race and maximising every weekend.
Early on the race was suspended following Charles Leclerc's 160mph smash into the barriers
‘It is going to be exceptionally challenging to overcome that gap, so I am sort of accepting what it is. I am going to try to enjoy it from here and win as many races as possible.’
Max Verstappen, for the record, finished third. Lando Norris was fourth and Oscar Piastri fifth. Lewis Hamilton was sixth for Ferrari.
It was a yo-yoing race, a good show in some ways but one that revealed not only the strengths but the frailties of the new regulations introduced this year that allow one car to pass with a boost button and then be repassed as their electric charge falls off.
Early, Leclerc was left sitting in pain after his dramatic 160mph crash.
The Ferrari favourite lost control of his car at the final bend, the Parabolica, as he duelled with Piastri for fourth place.
Leclerc’s impact with the wall was severe with only a short portion of gravel to slow his trajectory into the hoardings, which he thudded side-on.
Leclerc was left devastated on the grass after crashing out of the race
The Monegasque soon jumped out of the car but then sat disconsolately on the grass as he was comforted by a marshal before being taken away in the medical car. He was feeling his neck as he went for treatment. Ferrari said he had been released from the medical feeling ‘OK’.
The race was red-flagged for 30 minutes and some fans in the grandstands cried at the huge blow for their team.
By this point, Leclerc had already squeezed Hamilton on the second part of the opening chicane and was driving somewhat erratically. Hamilton was furious, saying: ‘Charles pushed me off.’ The seven-time world champion, who started fourth, fell down to 10th place.
Russell was leading the race for Mercedes at this point when the race was suspended after passing pole man Pierre Gasly, who was to finish seventh for Alpine, on the main straight at the end of the first lap.
Leclerc’s stricken car was taken away by crane and the ding-donging began again. And nobody was hit harder than Russell.
